If you are suffering from something, trust me, I get it. I remember when I could barely get out of bed because I was too exhausted. I felt weak, too weak to even take a shower. My body was in a lot of pain and there was nothing I could do. If someone had told me to get up and shower, I just ignored them because frankly, I was feeling too weak to even care. For days, I locked myself in my room. I remember bringing chips into my bedroom and that was my breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn’t care very much, not because I wanted to torture myself. It was simply because I couldn’t even get the energy to care for myself physically, mentally and emotionally.

I have truly come a long way and it’s been about 18 years, but my heart and my body remembers. Life has definitely been amazingly different now, but I do not t want to mislead anyone. Just because I have “recovered” from the darkest years of my life, does not mean life has been perfect. I share inspirational quotes and photos almost everyday through Link of Hearts, and in reality, we post them because it applies to me, to us. The same quote that I hope will make a difference in you on a certain day, is the same quote I am using to inspire and help myself to keep going.

I am nobody special. I am not a professional expert on mental illness. I am simply someone who has battled mental illness for years and years, and now wants to share her struggles and small milestones with the goal of helping and inspiring someone. And If I can get through my darkest days in the valley, so can you!

When I started Link of Hearts, I just had a thought of sharing my story because I had a feeling and a desire in my heart that I would like to make a difference, to at least one person who may be going through exactly what I had gone through.

So, If you are going through any struggles right now, I leave you with some encouragement, even if that means it’s your last “string of hope” (like I used to describe it!)...There truly is light at the end of the tunnel. It may seem hard for you to believe it, but light will shine again. There is hope, there is help, there is love and compassion...all things that you deserve because YOU MATTER and YOU ARE WORTHY of it all. Here are the two things my depression and anxiety revealed about myself:

My struggles do not define who I am but it helped me be the kind of person I am today. I can honestly tell you that I don’t think I would feel as strong as I am right now if it weren’t for those years of struggle. I have developed this STRENGTH and RESILIENCY that I never knew I could possibly see in myself...I have gone through a lot in my life so I say, bring it… coz nothing is stopping me now!

I never really learned the true meaning of EMPATHY until the last few years of my life. I can look into your eyes and not say a word, but feel something in you. A smile on your face does not necessarily mean joy and happiness, I know, coz I have been there. A tear in your eye could mean so many things, and I get it coz I have been there….And now, I have become an empath with a deep desire to help and care for others.

Having gone through it all myself, I can tell you with all my heart, there is hope. Have faith. Believe that it will get better. I don’t know when, but I promise you it will. If you can just hang on and keep fighting, because YOU are worth fighting for. I am fighting for you and I am rooting for you. I may not be a professional in this but I can tell you from experience that things can get better. Just never give up. No matter what happens, never give up… I am here for you, always.